


Dog Fight

by NaturalDisaster_Goddess



Series: Dog Fight [1]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Animal Abuse, Linked Universe, LinkedUniverse, illegal dog fighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 09:48:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18938452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaturalDisaster_Goddess/pseuds/NaturalDisaster_Goddess
Summary: Most people fear wolves; sometimes fear isn't enough.





	Dog Fight

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr request from jdc1717

Of course.

_ Of course _ , Twilight thought as he trotted through the forest; nose to the ground searching for his friends.

He’d only walked twenty feet away, and when he’d turned back they were just gone.

_ They’d better not have wound up in another world _ , he griped to himself as, yet again, he failed to pick up even a trace of his friends’ scents,  _ We haven’t even figured out which one we’re in now. _

He growled lowly to himself; twisting in a small circle as he tried to pick up anything even remotely familiar.

His low growl was cut short by a sharp yelp when a pin prick of pain stabbed into his shoulder.

He stumbled and his right foreleg went numb. He couldn’t twist his head far enough to see what was causing the pain, but the world around him was spinning enough to make him think he probably could. His leg gave out as soon as he tried to put weight on it, and he fell onto his shoulder pushing the sharp, digging pain further into the muscle. His legs twitching hopelessly was his only reward as he tried to get back onto all four legs.

Muffled footsteps and hazy voices poked at his ears; floating somewhere just beyond reality. Blurry legs stepped into his wavering vision; stepping closer and closer until there were hands lifting his limp head and running through his fur.

His last sensation before passing out were those same hands wrapping around his legs and dragging him through the grass.

* * *

 

A sharp kick to his stomach woke him up.

By the time his eyes opened he was already growling viciously and moving to snap at what was probably the offending monster leg. Instead of clamping his jaws around a scaly leg; Twilight was dragged back by a heavy collar wrapped around his neck and chained to the bars of a large cage and his jaws forced shut by a too-small, iron muzzle. Whines, whimpers and growls echoed around him; the smell of dogs and blood filling his nose. Standing in front of him was, not a monster, but a person.

A blonde haired Hylian man with cruel brown eyes staring down at Twilight with an expression he couldn’t name, but didn’t like at all. Almost unconsciously, at the behest of some violent defensive instinct, Twilight growled at the man; sinking into a defensive crouch, hackles raised and teeth bared.

The man made a derisive noise and lashed out at Twilight with a foot; the sole of his boot colliding harshly with Twilight’s flank. Twilight yelped, stumbling backwards. Then the man raised his arm and swung his arm down bringing the multi-tailed whip down on Twilight in a rapid series of stinging lashes.

By the time it’s over Twilight’s back and shoulders are covered in stinging welts; made only moderately better by the protection of his thick fur. The man steps past him, walking towards where the chain tying Twilight to the bars of the cage is anchored.

The second Twilight hears the chain come loose, he bolts.

Twilight was strong, he always had been; the man doesn’t stand a chance.

The man yelps as he’s pulled to the ground, but Twilight pays him no mind. He sprints through rows and rows of kennels, each occupied by chained, muzzled, scarred up dogs of all kinds. Somewhere he can’t see he hears the whistling crack of more whips whistling through the air and the answering yelps as they strike other dogs.

Twilight’s heart aches with the desire to crash through those bars, to tear the whips from the grips of these cruel handlers, rip the muzzles from the faces of the dogs around him, smash the chains trapping these dogs to pieces, but he can’t, not now, not like this.

He needs to get out of here. He needs to find the others. Then they burst in here with the power of nine Heroes of Courage and righteous fury on their side.

His plans however, are interrupted. The man being dragged behind him has been screaming up a storm; calling for help, raising the alarm, and all around doing things that Twilight really doesn’t want him to be doing. In hindsight, this plan wasn’t exactly very well thought out, but he had a feeling he didn’t have many options. Limited options or not; this one wasn’t going to pan out.

Twilight heard an echoing crash as a heavy metal gate slammed shut; shouts and orders permeated the air as more and more people flooded the room. One agile woman slid in front of him, knocking away his legs. The two were up at almost the same time, but the man clinging to the chain around Twilight’s neck had gotten his feet under him and yanked Twilight back. The woman seized the opportunity and wrapped her hands around the straps of the muzzle stuck on Twilight’s face, pulling the already far to tight straps even tighter. Twilight pulled against their grip, metal bars of the muzzle digging into the sensitive skin of his nose and snout. He was nearly winning the struggle, gaining ground and pulling out of the people’s grips.

Then what felt like a metal bat crashed into his side; stressing his already smarting ribs and forcing them to buckle and crack under the force of the bat. He yelped loudly, and a thin switch cracked across one of his forelegs and he was stumbling backwards. Right into the legs of another man who wrapped a second chain around Twilight’s throat and pulled tight, cutting off the air to his windpipe.

Twilight’s ribs screamed at him as he struggled to pull free of the chain around his throat. Other people were moving around him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He thought he was going to pass out or die by the time the chain was loosened. As soon as it was out of the  way Twilight was dragged forward by multiple chains that had been latched to his collar and muzzle while he’d been fighting off the blackness of a lack of air. His head is pulled low by the chain latched to his muzzle; it’s harder to fight the tugs and the rough straps dig painfully into his ears. His aching ribs are further strained by the people dragging him towards the heavy metal gate he’d heard crashing shut in his mad dash for freedom. That same gate is rising slowly, allowing cheers, and shouts, and jeers to echo into the room.

One final, unified tug pulls Twilight into the small, sunny arena; one side a solid brick wall and the other a barbed wire fence. Twilight is dragged to the wall and one chain is locked securely to an anchor in the wall. Across from him is a mottled black and brown mutt held docilely on the end of a chain. The team of people who’d dragged him out unlatched the additional chains from his collar and muzzle and walked away with one last booted foot planted in his throat.

The other dog’s handler slaps his flank, and the dog turns aggressive instantly. He hunkers down growling at Twilight. The handler steps beyond the ring of barbed wire and drops the chain. The dog lunges forward with a loud bark; jaws stretched wide.

Twilight darts back from the dog with a desperate cry, “No wait!”

The dog stops his assault, looking at Twilight curiously. His handler gives a frustrated cry and grabs a long whip bringing it down on the dog’s back. The dog lets out a pained yelp as his tail tucks itself between his legs, and he growls regretfully at Twilight again. He paces around Twilight, bound to a limited space by the anchor of the chain, looking for the perfect opening. With few options left Twilight crouches down; low and defensive.

The dog is fast, and he’s darting forward in a heartbeat. Finely honed instincts guide Twilight into a spin attack, but finely honed instincts don’t account for the chain sitting at his feet. The dog is knocked away, but Twilight’s hind legs are wrapped in chain tearing his focus from the dog. The dog is not nearly so distracted; he’s back on his feet quickly and already darting out to clamp his jaws around Twilight’s left foreleg. Twilight yelps and tries to pull it away, but the dog’s grip is strong and he only drags him nearer. Twilight swings his head; slamming his heavy iron muzzle into the dog’s head. The dog is ripped away from Twilight's leg; taking strips of skin and muscle with him.

Twilight’s leg is bleeding profusely; blood dripping through his fur into little drops and pools in the dirt. That leg was completely unusable, and his right shoulder was still sore from his capture. He watched as the dog got back to his feet, shaking his head…

_ What now? _

The dog was already getting ready for another charge, and Twilight’s vision was starting to waver. The dog charges Twilight; headbutting him in his cracked ribs sending the wolf crashing to the ground with a sharp cry of pain.

The dog backs away for another charge; eyes narrowing in on Twilight’s throat. The chain still wrapped around his hind legs stops him from getting up, and Twilight looks desperately back and forth between the chain and the dog. The dog charges, and Twilight’s certain he’s going to die, barely able to even lift his head anymore.

Until the dog is yanked off course by the collar around his throat.

_ Finally it’s someone else in that position, _ he thinks sourly as he follows the path of the dog to where he’s been pinned.

Pinned by a razor sharp arrow piercing through a single link of the chain into the ground.

There was only one person he knew who could shoot that precisely.

Exactly as he’d expected, three more arrows fly into the crowd; making their homes in three peoples legs.

The arrows are soon joined by swords and angry cries as the others join the fight. Wild drops in front of him like a protective wraith; shooting down any who try to escape. And running up to Twilight is another familiar figure.

Tall, imposing, wrapped in armor...and horribly panicked Time drops to his knees beside Twilight gently stroking the fur at Twilight’s neck. Time’s hands find the clasp of the muzzle and he unhooks it; slipping the muzzle off of Twilight’s snout, carefully working it out of the bloody patches where the crude bars had cut into his skin.

“You OK Pup?” he whispers, stroking Twilight’s neck.

Twilight tilts his head towards the building he’d been dragged from, yipping softly.

Time seemed to understand him as he turned to the others, just finishing trussing up the audience of the illegal fight.

“There’s probably more dogs inside. One of you keep watch over them and the rest of you go free the other dogs.” he orders.

Legend pulls a pair of bolt cutters from who knows where and slices the collar from Twilight’s neck before going to help the others.

It is at this point that Twilight could no longer keep his eyes open; his consciousness slipping away with the feeling of Time’s fingers caressing through his fur at the forefront of his mind.


End file.
